Dark Eclipse Exorcist
by LZW
Summary: Enmadou Rokuro, a budding prodigious exorcist whose dream was to exorcise every single Kegare. That is, until tragedy struck. With all his loved ones lying dead before his feet, the young boy did not falter. Instead, he swore vengeance against those who had wronged him. And so his vendetta against them began… Dark Rokuro. OP Rokuro. S2 Eventually. Cover Art By: IttyBitty-ChibiKitty
1. Chapter 1: Darkness

A/N: Let's see here, tragic background, check, has ability which is overpowered, check, Kirito as voice actor, surprisingly not check but two out of three is close enough I guess. Time for another short story where I twist the main character into a dark ruthless monster. The length of each chapter will be determined by what content is in every three episodes, totaling to four chapters until I'm out of material. Think of this as something to read on the side as you watch the Anime.

Also, Benio's familiar isn't in the manga and is damn annoying so I'll be excluding him. I'll also be using content from the Manga rather than the Anime most of the time since it seems like they've altered quite a bit in the third episode. Of course it'll likely just be a mix rather than one or the other. It works out either way since for those who watch Anime only, you'll get to see what you missed in the Manga and the Manga only readers won't feel lost.

* * *

As fire burned the blood splattered walls of Hiinatsuki Dorm, Enmadou Rokuro, the sole survivor of the attack stood within the blazing flames of despair and looked upon the bodies of his dead friends.

"Yuto… Hikari… Yuna… Kacchan… Tatsuya… Ami… Tetsuji… I'm sorry…"

He tightened his grip on his limp right arm as he looked towards the bloodied hand of Ami.

"I will become… The greatest exorcist… And take revenge on every single Kegare!"

* * *

The world is stained with Kegare, and he shall sin to wipe them out… To have his revenge...

* * *

After being brought to his new home, Seika Dorm, Rokuro trained mercilessly, forcing his body to the absolute limit. He only trained in secret and did not allow his strength to ever be found out. He feigned weakness to deceive those around him and refused to go out on missions with them, he knew that if they found out about his strength, he would be forced to be one of the Twin Star Exorcists.

He had read about it while researching ways to gain power, that the strongest exorcist would be Miko, one born between the two strongest exorcists. But that would take too long, even if the child could fight Kegare at the age of ten, he would still have to wait a decade or two before his revenge would be anywhere close to complete.

He would fight them himself, he would cleanse them all on his own, without anyone or anything to hold him back. Despite developing his own techniques to neutralize large groups of Kagare and aerial targets, Rokuro was still unsatisfied, wanting to gain even more power, he seeked out the forbidden exorcism books and adapted the techniques within to fit his own fighting style.

As he stood atop a bridge in the city, watching the waters while deep in thought, he suddenly heard fluttering coming from above him. He looked up and saw a schoolgirl flying down towards the river. Sighing, Rokuro jumped up at an angle and caught the girl before landing at the river bank. He set her down but she stayed unconscious for a good while.

'She seems familiar… Ah right, she looks like Adashino Benio, that prodigy from West Japan said to be the strongest exorcist, what could she be doing here?'

Deciding not to wait any longer, he headed to the river and cupped some water with his hands before splashing it onto her face. She awoke with a start before choking on the water which flowed into her nose.

"Good you're awake."

Benio continued coughing for a few seconds before turning angrily to Rokuro.

"So, how did you end up falling from the sky?"

She remained silent, only taking out a map and pointing to a marked red star.

"Hmm? You want directions?"

She nodded her head at the question while Rokuro pondered his options.

'It seems she wants to head to my home, meaning she might be the real Benio, though that still doesn't explain falling out of the sky. Whatever, I guess I'll just lead her around in circles until she tells me.'

"Sure, not like I got anything to do today anyway."

The girl got up and followed behind Rokuro as he headed up the stairs. After walking around aimlessly for two hours, Rokuro finally heard a sound from the girl, though it was not the sound he expected to. A loud grumble echoed throughout the city as Benio's hungry stomach expressed its discontent. Looking back, Rokuro sighed as he saw her embarrassingly clutch her stomach as if to block the noise.

"You're hungry huh?"

She nodded weakly and pointed to a nearby sweets shop.

"I guess it's partly my fault you got hungry, so here, go buy something to eat."

Benio snatched his wallet with gleaming eyes and returned from the store with a plate full of Ohagi… Along with an empty wallet. Rokuro face palmed at being so stupid as to offer his entire wallet instead of just a note within it.

"Great… Don't you have money of your own?"

She shook her head to say no, to which caused Rokuro to facepalm once again.

"You came into a town without any money and expected to find reliable directions to your destination through strangers? Any sane person would bring enough for a cab or at least a meal…"

Unresponsive, Benio continued to immerse herself in eating Ohagi.

'What have I gotten myself into…'

After she finally finished the food, Benio looked to Rokuro with a pleased look and signalled him to continue on. However, he didn't budge.

"You've had your fill so I want answers, what is the big idea falling from the sky?"

Her face changed then to an annoyed look.

"Conversations annoying…"

"Oh really? Well then I guess you won't be getting these back."

As he said that, Rokuro waved a stack of talismans in front of her. Alarmed, she checked her thigh sheath and found that they indeed had been stolen.

"You, when did you?!"

"Oh, feel like talking now don't you?"

"Grr…"

"Wow, how fierce, I almost got scared there."

She looked on in frustration at the man, pissed at his antics.

"Here catch!"

Benio barely managed to grasp the stack before it hit the ground.

"I don't feel like caring anymore about you falling, just think of that as payback for spending all my money."

She narrowed her eyes at the evil man as he walked on before he turned back and called out to her.

"Oi! You coming or not?"

Sighing, she followed behind him. They continued on, lost, for another ten minutes before two bike riding children rode past them.

"Kohana, are you making sure to stick behind me?"

"Wait! Onii-chan!"

They continued on for a while but shortly heard sinister disturbing laughter, only to see a collapsed bike when they turned their backs. A conclusion was easily reached and Benio pulled out a talisman.

"Mysteriously within this reality, I earnestly seek the great gate of Ookami. Discreetly and with respect, I beseech thee in this manner. Please hear my plea with tranquility and serenity."

'She's the real Benio, as I predicted, no normal exorcist could open a gate to Magano so easily, I better get away before she notices me.'

"Magano gate open!"

The earth and sky turned a crimson shade of red as the two entered Magano.

"Get up! Get up! Onii-chan!"

"Konoha… Run…"

"No… Let's go home together…"

Just as the Kegare leaned in with the intent to devour them, two enchanted swords pierced the side of its face. Jumping to latch onto the swords and using a backflip to gain momentum, the now blank masked girl cut cleanly through the monster while Rokuro watched from the sidelines. A gold star appeared as the beast was exorcised.

'She's not too shabby, though I'm much better of course…'

Just as she approached the two children to treat their injuries and Rokuro was about to leave, multiple Kegares sprung up from the ground and surrounded her.

'Oh? A whole mess of them appeared, let's see what else she has up her sleeves…'

Benio then withdrew four talismans from her stack and threw them into the air in front of her in a cross.

"Might Talisman, Skanda Talisman, Vajra Talisman, Star-Sight Talisman… Exorcist Enchantments!"

She punched the one on her left and kneed the one at the bottom.

"Pulverizing Lion's Strength! Heaven Striding Speed!"

The ones on her right and the top floated to her body, going into her front and face.

"Adamantine Raiment! Calamity Foresight!"

Her body was now covered in bluish enchantment lines, even creating a face on her blank mask.

"Come forth at once!"

Benio then stepped forward and took her dual swords from the ground.

"Shores of Enlightenment Dance!"

She dashed forward and went from enemy to enemy, slicing through them all with ease. Gold star sigils appeared all over them as they were all exorcised at nearly the same time.

'Wow, her speed isn't too bad, I guess her title of the best in West Japan wasn't for show…'

She then approached the two kids and performed a healing mantra with a talisman to heal the boy's injuries. Just as she was about to get the kids out of magano, a earth shaking rumble was heard. She grabbed the children and jumped away, barely avoiding the monster which rose out from below them. The little girl screamed and Benio tried to calm her down.

"Go and find a place to hide with your brother, I'll deal with this monster."

From the sidelines, Rokuro quietly whistled to himself at the sight of it.

'Wow, I remember when those used to give me a hard time, I wonder if she can handle it…'

Benio lept onto its limbs and towards its head but before she could land a hit, she was swiftly swatted away by one of its arms, falling to her knees after the impact.

'This thing is strong, I don't think I can take many of those hits, I need to finish this off quickly!'

She checked her sheath and saw that she only had one talisman left which she had to save for leaving Magano.

'It's humongous and stronger than anything else I've ever fought before but I need to defeat it, if I run now, I'm running away from my dream of a world where no one is hurt by Kegare.'

After checking to make sure the kids were safe, she steeled herself and launched an attack at its neck. As she fell back, she saw through the cleared dust cloud that it was barely affected by her strike despite the hole she pierced.

'This Kegare may look like a blob of jelly but he is actually really solid. In that case…'

Landing safely and narrowly dodging the counterattack from the Kegare, she prepared another attack.

"Ephemeral Lotus Dance!"

Thousands of impacts hit the monster at once, practically immobilizing it. When she got into position to attack one of its limbs, she put more force into her strike, at the cost of damaging herself. Her mask cracked as she severed an arm and a corner broke off as she cut off a leg. She continued her onslaught but as she went to for the other arm, the creature had learned her pattern and threw a punch towards her.

She luckily saw it wind up so managed to block some of the damage with her swords but was thrown back regardless. Her mask however, did not survive. Her enchantments also could not hold and faded. She breathed heavily and looked up as the beast approached her. It roared once more as it readied itself to devour her.

'To think I would perish in a place like this…'

Rokuro looked on from his hiding spot in disappointment.

'I guess that was the most I could expect from her.'

He stood up and stretched a little.

'Better go and save her, wouldn't do for her to die because of me.'

With a great leap, Rokuro landed in between her and the Kegare.

"You… How?"

"I thought you'd be stronger than this, quite a disappointment for one someone which is considered to be one of Japan's best exorcists, Adashino Benio."

"Huh? How do you know who I am?

"You should just stick to eating Ohagi, let me show you how it's done."

At this point the Kegare's patience ran out and it smashed the ground in rage. Rokuro responded by pulling out a black talisman.

'A black talisman? And it's blank as well…"

"Eradicate… Consume... Eradicate and Consume! Appear before me!"

Red markings appeared on his right arm which then rose like a folding piece of paper before dissipating into the air and reappearing on the black talisman. Taking a stance and punching towards the ground, a black gauntlet with red veins in the pattern of what was on the talisman manifested onto his arm.

"What is with that arm…"

The Kegare made scared groans as it stared at the gauntlet.

"Come! I'll erase every single Kegare from existence!"

As if able to sense its coming demise, the creature backed away in fear. But Rokuro gave no mercy, he lunged forward with his fist outstretched, punching cleanly through the beast's entire body. Unlike normal, a red star sigil appeared as the Kegare was vanquished, imploding on itself and becoming a concentrated floating black ball of energy instead. Rokuro swiped the ball from its invisible pedestal as he walked over to the exhausted Benio.

"Such power…"

"This power, is nothing more than the means to an end…"

He released his gauntlet and jumped away.

"I'll leave the kids to you, see you around, Ohagi Onna!"

[A/N: Onna means woman, but this seemed to fit more than the English due to the double 'O' so I used it instead. Also for any curious souls, Ohagi is just another type of rice ball.]

* * *

After escaping Magano with the siblings, Benio asked them for directions to her destination which she then followed to what appeared to be a traditional japanese manor. She was given a warm welcome and felt happy enough to forget about her previous encounter. That is, until she entered the dining room and saw _him_ there.

"Yo!"

"You two know each other?"

"Yea, I ran into her on the way back from town."

"Oh, that makes things easier then, I'll get the servants to bring her belongings to her room while you can socialize a bit more."

Ryougo then butted in as Benio stared at Rokuro in rage.

"Isn't that good Rokuro! You'll finally have a rival!"

"Keh, I just hope she's worth my time…"

Ryougo was speechless at Rokuro's attitude at the moment, it was almost as if he was a different person. He sounded, arrogant… Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to question him on it further as Rokuro finished up his meal and headed into his room. Benio was consoled regarding Rokuro's cold welcome and had her every need as a guest catered to.

It wasn't until the next day that she decided to confront Rokuro. She knocked multiple times but he had failed to answer the door and so she opened it of her own accord. Unexpectedly, she did not find him sleeping in bed but rather lying in wait for her expectantly. He was certainly making himself comfortable.

"You really have no courtesy do you? Barging into someone's room at five in the morning."

"I knocked."

"And I never said you could enter."

She stayed silent at that, knowing that was true.

"But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that silence meant consent."

He then sat upright to properly address her.

"So? What do you want?"

"Let's go to Magano, right now."

"Oh? Are you perhaps feeling inferior after my display of power and wish for a rematch of some sort?"

Silence followed his spot on taunt.

"I hit the nail on the head didn't I?"

"Yes…"

"Unfortunately, I stand to gain nothing from this petty competition of yours. Tell me, why should I even consider your challenge?"

"Do it or I'll tell everyone about your power."

"Oh?"

"I've asked around, the only one who believes you're still powerful is Ryougo, the others say they've never seen you fight before and accuse you of being a coward."

At this, Rokuro got up and put the back of his palm to his forehead while closing his eyes and gasping in spurious shock.

"Unbelievable, that the bravest, noblest and strongest exorcist of West Japan would stoop so low as to turn to blackmail!"

Benio got visibly frustrated at this and approached Rokuro.

"It's just a friendly contest…"

He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Oh really? Then I'm sure as a gesture of goodwill you would be more than willing to postpone this match to a later timing right?"

Benio narrowed her eyes.

"I'm really tired from yesterday you see, I forgot to do my warm ups and stretches so I sprained my neck a little, a minor thing honestly but it will affect my ability to fight, then even on the off chance that you did beat me, I could claim it was due to my injury. I sure that you can afford to allow me to recover before we have our match right?"

"Fine…"

"Excellent, let's have it this afternoon then, now get out, I still need to sleep some more, go exorcise a Kegare or something."

"Oi! Benio! There's a Kegare, wake up!"

"See? Perfect timing."

Benio left without another word and met up with Ryougo to fight the Kegare, only to slice through it easily without a challenge. However, she wasn't satisfied, the monster she defeated was no where close to what Rokuro had fought.

* * *

Later that day, a commotion could be heard downstairs at the gate, it seemed an important guest had arrived. Rokuro drew his curtains and looked out, only to see a man who was completely naked save for a pair of purple undergarments.

'Tsuchimikado Arima? I had heard he had his quirks but this is taking it too far… Besides, what is the supreme commander and leader of the exorcists doing here? Well whatever, I'm sure it just concerns that Benio girl.'

Rokuro then laid back down on his bed and closed the curtains before closing his eyes to rest a little. Sadly for him, a troublesome thought just permeated his mind as his sight went dark.

'Wait! What if he's here regarding the Twin Star Exorcists?! It would make sense considering West Japan's strongest suddenly got reassigned to where I, undoubtedly East Japan's strongest, resided… Well, I suppose my secret's gonna be revealed, it was bound to happen so I might as well show it off. Then again, I might get lucky and have Ryougo get chosen to marry her instead. Wouldn't that be something?'

As fate would have it, they were soon lead into the five mirror chamber where all the high ranking exorcists waited and wondered why they were summoned. Many immediately went and greeted Benio once she was within sight. Just as she was about to be overwhelmed by the amount of people crowding around her, their attention was drawn to Arima who stood at the platform above them.

"Thank you all for coming today! I, Chief Exorcist Tsuchimikado Arima, am delighted to be able to share with all of you a fabulous piece of news today! I recently received a prophecy from the gods! It says that the child of the gods, the strongest exorcist, Miko, will be among us soon!"

Murmurs went around as people anticipated who could possibly get the title of Miko.

"Adashino Benio! Please step forwards!"

Benio headed up to the stage with a blank look on her face, unsure what to feel.

"Enmadou Rokuro! Please step forwards as well!"

'Oh? Guess I'm out of luck this time…'

"These two, are Japan's two strongest exorcists from the East, and from the West."

More whispering circulated at the mention of someone who was supposedly a no name being on par with Benio.

"Now, it's time for the main event! These two prodigious exorcists are going to show off their skills. You will both fight against each other at full strength…"

"You sure about that Arima? What if she gets injured?"

Even more gossip erupted at his casual addressing of the Chief Exorcist but Arima paid them no mind.

"Don't worry about it, just fight with your full strength."

"No."

"No?"

"If I did, she would most likely end up dead, and we can't have that can we?"

Rokuro then took out a black talisman and activated it, red patterns appearing and folding above his arm once more. Just like before, it dissipated into the air and appeared on the dark charm.

"Eradicate… Consume... Eradicate and Consume! Appear before me!"

The charm glowed blood red as the gauntlet from before encased his arm. Rokuro then turned to her and smirked.

"For her, just this arm is enough."

Jeers exploded from the audience for underestimating their Benio-sama while some curious exorcists questioned the strange gauntlet.

"Oi, do you want that rematch or not? Hurry up and equip your enchantments."

They both got in their halves of the arena and Rokuro stood ready with an arm behind his back. Benio made the first move and used an enchantment to coat her blades in fire.

"Ashen Immolation!"

But Rokuro easily repelled it, a simple tight punch being more than enough to throw her back into a pillar, completely collapsing it.

"Unbelievable! He easily fought back!"

"Come on, he said to fight with everything you had, or are you doing this on purpose?"

"Grr!"

"Heh, try and dodge this!"

Rokuro threw fragments of the same material as his gauntlet into the air, each with glowing scarlet sigils that fired laser like projectiles at Benio.

"Void Rending Dark Barrage!"

Unable to outrun them, Benio could only block with her blades, reducing some of the damage inflicted onto her. However, she was still pushed back from the impacts and collided into the pillar debris she made earlier. Losing balance, she was left defenseless against the barrage of lasers attacking her. The barrage soon stopped and she looked up hoping to see an exhausted Rokuro. To her dismay, what met her was a smirking Rokuro with that same cocky look she saw before.

"What's wrong? I thought you were supposed to be Japan's second strongest exorcist?"

In anger at being taunted, Benio unleashed her potential and moved at speed no normal human would be able to comprehend. She collided multiple times into Rokuro and the West Japan exorcists cheered at her gaining the upper hand. However, only her and Arima were able to see that her hits barely affected Rokuro, it was as if he had enchantments on his skin which protected him.

Deciding to go in with a strong attack since her light and fast ones weren't having much effect, she charged at Rokuro from above. Howbeit, Rokuro saw through her ploy and right at the point of no return for her, he made his move. With a punch faster than usual, he aimed straight at her and without any chance of a successful dodge at this point, Benio put even more power into her strike in an attempt to have an all out power struggle.

Just as the two weapons were about to collide, Arima pulled out a talisman and activated it.

"That's enough!"

Most would expect the nullifying talisman to end with both of them ending up powerless but Rokuro had other ideas. Reducing the talisman's effect on himself using one of his techniques, he watched as a defenseless Benio fell easily into his strike zone and with a weakened fist, he smashed it into one of her blades, shattering it into pieces as if the hard metal were actually just glass.

Pushed by the force of the attack, she fell to the side as a victorious Rokuro stood in the middle of the arena. There was initially silence, not even the ones from Seika dorm cheered his victory due to just how jawdroppingly stunning the display was. Even the Chief Exorcist was dumbfounded, not at Rokuro winning, but at the fact that he had resisted the effect of the talisman. Luckily, Benio wasn't too hurt and stood up a few moments later.

"As you can see, these two are tremendously powerful! Surely no one has any objection to the two of them being the Twin Star Exorcists do you?"

It seemed Arima had recovered from his shock and was going to force Rokuro into what he had expected.

"I do!"

The elders which knew of the prophecy cried outrage at Rokuro's refusal, jeering him of not being a true exorcist since he had never shown his power before and did not wish to bring forth Miko which would eradicate all Kegare. In retaliation, a dark aura swept over the room.

"Listen here you old bags, I refuse to become your little breeding stud, I'm sure I'm stronger than most of you here combined so why don't you just shut it!?"

There was a short silence but just as it was about to be broken by a second wave of jeers over being disrespectful, the dark aura intensified and shut them up. The only one seemingly unaffected was Arima who walked next to Rokuro and attempted to cut him a deal.

"Alright, I get it, you don't want to marry her, though I question how you knew of the Twin Star Exorcists, I'll cut you some slack. Here's how it's gonna go, she'll continue to live with you at the Seika dorm, as if she were a guest. If you end up falling for her then I win and you make Miko, but if you manage to not be affected by her for the rest of your life, then I lose and you are free!"

"Isn't that deal completely against me?"

"True, but don't you have the absolute confidence that you won't fall for her and have no intention of having a child with her?"

"Keh, fine then, she'll make a good maid while she's there then."

The person who had been silent until now finally spoke up at that remark and unleashed her rage.

"I am not some bride! I didn't become an exorcist to play house, I have a right to make a choice in this as well!"

Arima was quiet for a moment while he tried to think of a solution but Rokuro acted first and walked up to her.

"Oh sure you do, you can choose how long you want to live, since if you just kill yourself, I'll win earlier."

A dagger flew at Rokuro's face but he easily ducked it.

"Hey hey, that's dangerous, you could have hurt me, hehehe."

Sensing another fight was about to start, Arima pulled the two away and held an executive meeting to decide the next course of action. The conclusion reached was that despite the two's initial incompatibility, they would be put together at Seika in hopes of time helping them to get to know each other better and become friends at least.

* * *

Going back to school and around home, Rokuro acted like his usual self, the other members of the Seika dorm didn't question it, afraid of his dark personality. Only Ryougo bothered to confront Rokuro about it since he knew the kid back in Hiinatsuki but not even him could get anything out of Rokuro.

The next day, Benio, unwillingly attended school with Rokuro, having been put in the same class as him due to influence from Arima. She didn't stay the whole day however, as she didn't report back to class after lunch. Curious, Rokuro looked out the window and indeed saw her on her way to the disturbance he sensed. It seemed that it had intensified and Ryougo and the others were in trouble.

'I'm sure she'll be able to handle that much, it's not like another one of those will show up right? Even if it did, she should be cautious enough now to hold them off on her own.'

Benio raced towards the abandoned old mansion where she sensed the strong Kegare presence and found Atsushi and Shinnosuke injured outside it's doorstep, slowly limping out the courtyard.

"What happened, where's Ryougo?!"

"No idea, something really strong attacked us and Ryougo held it off to give us a chance to escape. We searched the house for him after healing ourselves enough but he seems to have disappeared…"

'He must have been dragged into Magano then…'

"Go home and rest, I'll bring Ryougo back."

They nodded silently and trudged back, entrusting their comrade to the stronger exorcist while they returned home to inform the old man. Benio used the charm and entered into Magano, searching the area for Ryougo. He fought as hard as he could but even he couldn't hold off such a strong opponent for long, he was unconscious by the time Benio located him and about to be consumed by the Kegare.

With her enchantments equipped, she slashed at the tendril coiled around his foot at high speed and caught him before setting him down gently behind her while she moved to engage the Kegare. Opening with a starting strike to the middle in order to test its resilience, she pierced it's exterior relatively well, showing it was strong, but not stronger than the one Rokuro exorcised.

'I should be able to handle it if I push myself…'

Readying herself, she lunged towards it in an attempt to strike at its left face. The strike was about to connect but a strike from one of its surprisingly quick finger tentacles struck her back before she could arrive at her target. The tentacle was severed in the process but she didn't come out unscathed.

Wiping the blood from her lip, she recovered just in time to hear a horrifying cry as a minor Kegare watching from the sidelines like a vulture, jumped over to the defenseless Ryougo, intent on feeding on him. Benio slashed at it with her sword, a gold star sigil appearing over it as it was exorcised.

'So I have to defend Ryougo in this situation as well huh? I can't send him out of Magano by himself first either, he'd just get dragged back in in his current state.'

Benio looked around and found that she had been surrounded. At the front was the large two headed Kegare and in every direction were hordes of minors which wanted a part of the prize.

Benio was forced to fight defensively, checking on Ryougo every so often and limiting herself to only short and quick attacks so as not to create an opening for the other Kegare to go for him. This went on for some time and she was slowly exhausted at having to switch between defense and offense while making sure that she didn't get put in a position where defending the injured Ryougo would be impossible. Finding a brief respite in the onslaught, she took a deep breath and prepared to strike back.

"Shores of Enlightenment Dance!"

Finally managing to thin the herd in an array of gold star sigils, she sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax a tiny bit. Yet, fate did not smile down on her that day and, like before, Kegare sprung up from the ground, replacing those she had just exorcised.

'There's no end to them! My enchantments are wearing off too, is this truly where I will meet my end?!'

Just as the situation seemed to be at its worst, a glimmer of hope, or rather a harbinger of despair, appeared. Rokuro landed ahead of Benio, his gauntlet primed and turned back.

"So this is the extent of your abilities in a tough situation huh? Disappointing…"

With great strength, Rokuro reared back his fist and smashed into the ground, sending fissures towards the dual headed Kegare, a huge spike appearing at its feet and impaling it, effectively ending its reign of terror then and there. A red star sigil appeared over it as it was exorcised, a black orb all that remained of it. The weaker Kegare all ran once Rokuro appeared, cowering once a strong enemy appeared, knowing that to attack in this situation would be suicidal at best.

With the enemies taken care of and the orb collected, he then turned to her and sighed.

"I had wished that the incident at the riverside and the duel were flukes but you are indeed not even a fraction as powerful as I would have expected… I even went through the trouble of intercepting the other two and telling them I would go to help you, unfortunately, after your pitiful display, I gave up hope, you are not worth my time…"

Benio could only gape again at the power of Rokuro but easily got ahold of herself.

"As if you could know what I've been through!"

"You lost your parents, congratulations. I never knew my parents, the only ones I knew as family were my dorm mates and they were all killed by the Kegare… I'm sure you've heard of it, the Hiinatsuki Tragedy… If you claim your loss is greater than mine, then why don't your abilities match your claims?!"

"I never-"

"Exorcise all the Kegare? Give me a break, you can't even exorcise Kegare of this level! Forget about avenging your parents, the one who did them in is probably leagues above you!"

Benio was without words, she did not have a counter to his argument.

"I'm going to take Ryougo back home, try and manage to seal the Magano gate at least, an exorcist of your level should be able to handle that much…"

* * *

A/N: Wow this was much longer than I expected. As you can tell, nothing major is changed yet, just Rokuro's attitude, but something more significant should change at some point. If you enjoyed this, feel free to check out my story for Danmachi, God, Demons and Fallen Angels, or my story for Absolute Duo, Absolute Carnage.

If anyone feels like I've turned Rokuro into the bad guy, don't worry I have realized that, his arrogance is, however, not unjustified by his strength. I just wonder how evil of a person I will end up twisting him into by the end… Also, updates will be some time during or before the weekends of the week Episodes six, nine and twelve, depending on the contents of the three Episodes.

Review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my community and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum.


	2. Chapter 2: Despair

A/N: Seeing as the Anime messed up the order of things by a huge margin and wasted a bunch of time, I'll be switching over to mostly using Manga content so that it is more streamlined in terms of progression. The release schedule should remain the same but the four chapter plan may be reconsidered since I am moving over to the manga but that still remains to be seen. Oh yea, this will be ahead of the Anime now so do be aware of spoilers.

Another big change is that I toned down on the evil of Rokuro, he seems to be a bit excessively mean comparative to normal and even I felt that when writing him so I made him more tame this chapter with actual emotions besides pure darkness. Of course, that is not to say he isn't as powerful, I don't intent to nerf him at all so rest assured on that. Sorry if anyone dislikes the change in his personality but I have a reason planned into the story to account for it okay?

Also, the word count, expectedly, was lower than last chapter, it generally is in this type of story for me but I am sorry nonetheless since no doubt some of you expected more. I think I, as usual, made Rokuro too OP though, so I'll try to write more about Benio's struggle to balance it out, make it more interesting than Rokuro kills everything because he is awesome.

Now, on to reviews! If anyone is wondering, I don't put the reviews there to make up words, just always found it inconvenient to have to look for the review in question whenever an author answered reviews without showing the original question or thought. I also have a minimum word count before I allow myself to finish the chapter anyway, five thousand for this story, so chapters shouldn't come out short.

* * *

 _Nyan Cat: Waaaahh! You don't know how I waited for fanfiction of Sousei no Onmyouji! This is great by the way!_

Thanks!

 _3mee: Great fic, I was looking all over for this archive and was so disappointed when I saw there was only one fanfic._

 _Anyway, the fic is great and I think I'll have to read the Manga in case there's something I missed out. :)_

Well the category was just added so will take some time and willing writers for more to pop up. Though, the franchise isn't as popular as I would have hoped. Have fun with the manga.

 _MiniTeddyBear: I like the idea. Great story so far. Looking forward to the continuation._

Cool, hope you like this chapter.

 _Arc of Carona: You are awesome for creating the first ever Twin Star Exorcists fanfic!_

Nah, you readers are awesome for supporting the story!

 _SakuraKoi: Oh wow_

Is that a good or bad wow? I can't tell…

 _Nualie: This was a fun read in a "LMAO THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IN THE MANGA" way. Which I know is the point, mind you. The idea in itself is interesting... Unfortunately I think you've pissed off a few other fans hahaha. And Rokuro kinda needs more in-characterness to feel like Rokuro ' Even if he's dark, he still should feel more like the same person. That's tricky to pull off, but I'm sure you can manage it._

 _I shall make a constructive review! *steels self* But on your forum XD_

And to the forum it went.

 _Argentum Solis: Rokuro reminds me of an OC my friend created._

In a good way or bad way? I can't tell tone in writing very well.

 _unknown: I like it! Though making Rokuro know everything made it a bit bland in my opinion. The tragedy didn't seem to hurt him in the slightest, maybe some flinching and mocks from time to time. Other than that, I really love it! Keep it up!_

 _I like your way of explaining the story._

Adding more Benio to remedy it, there's a reason for the lack of pain from the tragedy which should be covered in a chapter or two. Thanks for the compliment.

 _doremishine itsuko: This Rokuro is a bit of an asshole but I like your story nonetheless._

Yea, felt that too, tweaking him here to be more natural.

* * *

Rokuro brought Ryougo back to the dorm and treated his injuries with the help of some of the other residents. He focused completely on making sure his friend got better, brushing off questions regarding what happened, claiming that making sure of Ryougo's well being was more important at this current point. Once the healers made sure that he was stable, Rokuro watched over the sleeping form of his friend, determined to stay until he had awoken.

People came in to check regularly, usually bringing something for Rokuro such as snacks or a drink. Even Benio came after she returned home and sat next to him for a few moments.

"You seem to care a lot about him…"

"Of course, he's the last member of my family…"

"Didn't you say they were all killed?"

"Ryougo moved out before it happened, he was like an older brother to the rest of us, we were all proud of him when he left to go on missions…"

"Then why did you leave him in danger while assessing me earlier?"

"Idiot, he was never in any danger, I was always ready to act in case you slipped up…"

A silence reigned over the room for a few moments as Rokuro thought back to the times when Ryougo protected him all those years ago, acting as the one responsible whenever they broke anything. Benio, on the other hand, begrudgingly remembered her humiliating outplay by Rokuro and clenched her fists at the thought.

"I had hoped to have you protect him, you know? Ryougo goes on missions often and I can't always be there, seeing as you were said to be one of the strongests, I always kept the possibility of using you as a bodyguard in mind."

"I honed my skills to eliminate Kegare, not play bodyguard!"

"I know that, but knowing him, Ryougo won't accept not being allowed to go on missions, I always kept him safe in the past but since my power has been made known, there's no doubt the elders will force me onto tough missions, if I'm not around, who'll protect Ryougo?!"

"I'm sorry, I never thought of it like that… I just hated how you repeatedly said I was weak, I didn't want to feel like everyone was getting stronger without me… I didn't want to be left behind…"

"Relax, while I do say that you are weak, that is only in comparison to me, there's no doubt you have the dormant power needed to surpass most of the others. While I wouldn't listen to the Chief Exorcist's orders even if he threatened to use force, he is the Chief Exorcist for a reason, I don't doubt that the potential he saw in you was not a misjudgment."

"Then why did you put me down so many times?! What if I had become your enemy?!"

"It's just the way I am… Thing is, once I confirmed you were the real Benio, I had to insult you in the case that I ever needed you. I didn't get this strong just by training, there's a mindset you have to get into before you are ready."

"Ready? You mean you're going to train me?"

"Likely, there's no way I can entrust Ryougo to you as you are now."

"What if I don't want to just be some guard? I want power to crush the Kegare!"

"Then I see no reason for you to be here… Either swear by your honor to protect Ryougo with or leave…"

Not once did Rokuro's gaze meet Benio's during this conversation, his eyes fixed on the unconscious form before him, watching for any signs of recovery. Benio lowered her head, her heart told her to refuse this deal but her mind sought the power it offered and didn't allow her to leave, forcing her to fight an internal struggle within herself. Eventually Rokuro sensed Ryougo shifting and told Benio to leave with her mind still undecided, wanting to have some time alone, to which she complied.

* * *

Ryougo awoke a few minutes later and looked around in a daze before he realized he was back home and his eyes settled on Rokuro.

"Rokuro… What happened?"

"It's alright now Ryougo, I took care of it."

"You didn't use your power again did you?"

"Of course I did!"

"You need to stop using that power, it makes you seem like a whole 'nother person!"

"I need power to protect the things I care about Ryougo!"

"Rokuro, your my adorable little brother, the only one I have… But lately, whenever you wield your power, it seems like you're possessed or something…"

"I am not under the influence of anything, that much you don't need to be worried about…"

"Then why are you acting so cold?!"

"For revenge Ryougo, I want revenge on all of the Kegare and I'm going to get it no matter how much of my humanity I have to give up."

"Revenge? You shouldn't discard yourself just because of such a petty thing as revenge!"

"You weren't there Ryougo! You weren't there to see it happen… They were all slaughtered, I will not forgive them for harming my family!"

"Rokuro…"

"Look what those monsters just did to you?! If Benio hadn't arrived in time, you would've been devoured!"

Ryougo was silent, just now realizing how much danger he had been in.

"Ryougo, can you not go out on missions anymore?"

"Huh?!"

"I just don't want you to get into anymore danger…"

"You know that's not possible Rokuro, even if I wanted it…"

"I'm sick and tired of seeing people I care about get hurt!"

Another moment of silence passed as Ryougo's mind processed just what Rokuro was going through.

"Then quit being an exorcist…"

"You and I both know that's not an easy option."

"Why?!"

"Why? Because… Because I want to fight them too! You aren't the only one who was affected by the tragedy!"

"I see…"

Rokuro stood up and prepared to leave.

'He didn't agree, expectedly, of course he wouldn't…"

"But!"

That made him stop, apparently Ryougo wasn't finished.

"I know you're a lot stronger than me, than anyone else… So if you can pull the weight of me, Shinnosuke and Atsushi, I'll talk to the old man about it…"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, I didn't know you were this concerned about me, I can't go out to fight and put myself with peace of mind knowing you would be worried the entire time can I?"

"Ryougo…"

"Heh, now go, I wanna rest for a bit more."

He laid back down to rest as Rokuro left the room but called out one last time before the door's last glimmer of light was blocked.

"Just make sure you turn back into your old self once you're done alright?!"

Seeing a slight shift in Rokuro's shadow, Ryougo smirked and relaxed.

'Now, if I'm actually going to give up on being an exorcist, then I guess I should get a job? Ugh, it feels like I got old and just retired… Though I guess I'm happy if this will eventually get the old Rokuro back...

* * *

The next day, Rokuro and Benio were, to the displeasure of the female, heavily advised to stay together in a specially designed home. Arima said something about knowing each other better but yesterday's ordeal had already been quite the revelation. The condescending rude boy she knew actually had a soft side once it came to people he cared about.

The day was peaceful as Benio actively avoided Rokuro wandering around the house, unsure what to feel about him in light of the recent discoveries. Eventually it was time for dinner but there weren't any maids assigned so the two had to find their own food. Benio was on her way to the kitchen when she an enticing scent entered her nostrils and practically entranced her into going towards the source.

"Oi, I've been looking for you!"

She shook herself free of the aromic grip upon hearing someone call out to her and found herself seated across where Rokuro was cooking up a feast.

"Huh?"

Rokuro diced some carrots lightning fast and slid them into the wok while he addressed her.

"What's with the huge mess you left in the living room!?"

Lady finger slices were then added to the mix.

"I was in the midst of preparing for Kegare exorcisms."

The flame roared as egg mix was added.

"That still doesn't explain the volume of garbage there!"

Green peas swiftly joined the pile.

"My belongings from home were shipped over."

The fire was shut and the wok's contents were emptied into a ceramic bowl.

"Arima…"

The oven dinged and it's load was removed as well, a plate of pastries appearing soon after.

"I'll take care of dinner so just get rid of all your stuff, move it to your room or something."

Smoke whistled out of the nearby boiling pot and out of it came a bowl of soup.

"Why do I have to? What if I don't want your food?"

A mess of vegetables of all shapes and cuts suddenly flew into a bowl before being splattered with some sauce.

"Well that's fine by me, but this kitchen is mine so go out and buy something if you want to eat, Ohagi Onna…"

A slab of breaded meat was then laid onto the frying pan.

"Grr…"

A spatula pressed it lightly, causing it to sizzle, then flipped it and repeated the compression.

"No need to get angry, I'm sure you can live on just Ohagi right? Ohagi Onna…"

A flip later and the meat landed on some lettuce with a slight bounce. Benio was no longer able to resist looking at the lineup prepared.

"Hardly, if I ate just Ohagi then I would have an unbalanced diet."

Some softened sardines were then slathered generously with a tomato based sauce and put into a bowl in a circle formation with their tails sticking out.

"Then why don't you go grab a convenience store bento, I'm sure most of them are still open."

Some sticky rice was then patted with salt and wrapped with seaweed to encase a small roll of egg. This happened a couple more times and a plate of four was presented next to the other dishes.

"It would be wasteful if no one ate all your food, as an exorcist, I have to adapt to the situation to conserve resources and the most efficient thing to do would be to eat what has already been prepared rather than spend money on something else."

A blending noise could be heard as some stealthily tossed fruits and veggies were milked for their juices.

"Uh huh… Be honest here, you just really want this don't you?"

Rokuro took off his apron and started setting the table.

"That's preposterous, why would I want to eat that wasteful meal you just made?"

"Wasteful? I daresay that I haven't wasted anything, rather I think I cooked rather little."

"Nonsenc-"

A loud rumbling interrupted Benio as her stomach spoke its mind.

"Just take a seat and eat, you can sort out your junk later."

She hungrily complied and predatorily started snatching up large portions from every plate, piling her bowl high.

"As greedy as you are for Ohagi I see?"

With a stuffed mouth, Benio stared at him and mustered the best serious look she could. Unfortunately, being serious with swollen cheeks was rather difficult.

"At least let me introduce the dishes could you?"

Midway through her eating race, Benio stopped abruptly and narrowed her eyes at the boy across the table chewing happily away.

"You're being too nice."

Rokuro put down his eating utensils and smirked back.

"Heh, well don't get used to it, I'm only doing this since I'm in a good mood."

"Hmm?"

"Ryougo agreed to stop being an exorcist."

"I see, so I am no longer needed?"

"Pretty much, enjoy me no longer being as mean to you, just don't mess up the house while I'm gone killing Kegare."

"I am no maid."

"Well that's what you essentially are, considering you are no longer useful."

"At least do your part for this dinner and clean up, I'm going to turn in early."

Rokuro left immediately, leaving a protesting Benio behind. Defiantly, Benio left the table uncleared, gulped down what was left of her drink and headed to sleep in her room, the mess still present in the living room. She slept easily with a belly full of food, pretty much falling asleep immediately after lying down.

That night, Benio dreamt of her parents, the two exorcists were currently working together to take down a large Kegare similar to the one she fought upon first arriving. They took it down easily with twin blades, her mother wielding ones akin to her current ones. She felt her dream self move, jumping and calling out to her mother joyously, smiling at their success. Just then, she heard a voice behind her, alas, it never reached her as the floor suddenly crumbled.

"Benio, stop! It's dangerous to lean out so far!"

She felt a sense of weightlessness as she fell below the railing. Strangely, this wasn't in her memory and she didn't get hurt much despite the fall. With teary eyes, she cried out for her parents, unable to see them at all. Wandering around the wasteland of crimson for some time, she eventually saw two figures in the distance.

"Benio, come here my child!"

"No, come to daddy instead!"

She ceased her wails and ran towards the two, her tears of despair transformed into tears of joy.

"Papa! Mama!"

They both were kneeling to pick her up as she dashed ahead towards them. However, as she got closer, the image became clearer, they weren't kneeling, they were standing in a pool of blood. She slowed to a halt but they moved closer. Paralyzed in fear, she could only watch in fear as the two forms became ever more detailed and their bloodied, zombified skin was made apparent.

"Come here Benio, daddy wants to hug you…"

"What's wrong Benio? Mommy just wants to kiss you…"

She backed away as much as she could through the thick red liquid but fell back when one of them lurched forward slightly.

"No…"

 **"Choose…"**

"Huh?"

 **"I'll wait while I count down from ten…"**

The world then went dark as Benio violently awoke, completely soaked in cold sweat. She stumbled into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and it seemed she had been crying in her sleep. Coughing as she choked on some of her tears, Benio unwillingly vomited into the sink, a vile mixture of the elegant meal earlier oozed down the drain slowly.

Feeling utterly dreadful, she stripped and forced her pale self into the shower, cold water gracing her skin as the tap was turned on. Benio shivered at the feeling but steeled herself and tried to relax. She cleared her head of all thoughts, mechanically running through the procedure of cleaning herself to keep her mind off things regarding her dream or anything to do with exorcists.

It was then that she felt her heart pulse strongly, she felt the essence of a strong Kegare that was all too familiar to her. She zipped out of the shower, barely drying herself off at all before she donned her clothes and grabbed her twin daggers. In an instant, she leapt out her window and headed towards the source of the disturbance.

"Magano Gate open!"

Upon entering, she saw a large arachnid Kegare and equipped her enchantments. In a single powerful hate filled lunge, Benio tore through the monster and landed gracefully.

'Where is he?!'

Just then, a voice called out from behind her.

 **"Oi, you're an exorcist right?"**

Benio jumped forwards and took a stance, intending to wait and see how the Kegare reacted.

 **"The Twin Star Exorcists, do you know them?"**

"It really is you!"

 **"Tell me what you know of the Twin Star Exorcists or I'll kill you right here…"**

"After all this time… I've finally found you!"

 **"I don't know what you're talking about but I'll give you till I count down to one to answer my question."**

Instead of waiting any longer, Benio dashed to her sides before taking off in another direction in mere milliseconds. She constantly switched paths until she was sure he had lost track of her. Then was when she struck, kicking off strongly and swinging both blades down in an arc to decapitate her prey.

"I will avenge my parents you crushed six years ago!"

 **"How foolish…"**

The Kegare side stepped and drew his arm back before backhanding her two blades, shattering them easily. Then, with that same arm, he flicked her shin and a cracking sound was heard. Benio flinched and didn't see the next attack coming. The Kegare leapt up and smashed his foot against her mask, fragmenting it and sending her flying through two rock outcroppings before she collided against a large mound and fell to the ground.

 **"This revenge thing you're trying to do, it seems like you just wasted your life if you ask me."**

He planted his foot on her bleeding face.

 **"All it's done is astound me, astound me at how weak you are. Though I will respect your dedication and will reward you with the choice of how to die for being able to entertain me through this display. You have two options, die like your parents did, or die by my foot crushing your head, I'll give you time to think while I count down from ten…"**

As the countdown signalling her end continued in the background, Benio could only think of one thing, how much of a failure she had been. There was no denying the fact that she had failed, her enchantments were all destroyed and she was at his whim.

'I couldn't accomplish anything, I only caused trouble for Rokuro who actually stood a chance against Kegare like this… Father… Mother… Forgive me…'

Tears trickled down her face as she despaired at her current situation.

 **"Three… Two… On-"**

He never got to finish his count as a dark gauntlet impacted into his face and sent him soaring backwards.

"Keh, that was disgusting, I can't believe I have to protect you so that Arima doesn't use your death as an excuse to force me to mate with the second strongest immediately before she possibly gets killed."

Benio would have been offended by the remark if she didn't notice that Rokuro's upper arm was covered in the same material as his gauntlet.

"Rokuro? What's with your arm?"

"Huh? Nothing much, just figured I needed to manifest more to deal real damage to that guy."

As if responding to being referred to, the person in question rose from his rocky tomb, spitting out some blood as he did.

 **"What are you…"**

"Just some vengeful exorcist."

 **"Impossible… No mere exorcist can damage me by such a huge amount with only one attack!"**

"Well let's just say I'm special, now come Kamui, show me just how powerful a Basara is!"

 **"You know too much, I'll beat the truth out of you!"**

Kamui stood back up with some difficulty and drew his charm.

 **"God of Darkness, Legs of Dark-"**

He never got to finish his chant as Rokuro sprung forward and landed another punch squarely.

"Oi, you aren't even taking me seriously, use your full strength, or I'll just finish you off here and now!"

 **"Ugh…"**

"I know your capability even as the weakest of the Basara is more than that stunt you were trying to pull so stop playing around and come at me!"

 **"Very well…"**

Gracing the crimson earth with more blood, he drew his charm once more.

 **"God of Darkness, Armor of Darkness!"**

Now surrounded in enchanted gear, Kamui readied himself and pounced at Rokuro.

"Excellent, this will be a good test of my skill!"

Just as his gauntlet was within striking range, Rokuro countered with his own and the two armored gloves clashed in a resounding boom, sending a shockwave out around the two combatants. A winner was clear however, as Rokuro was barely exerting any effort while Kamui was having trouble pushing back the opposing arm. Soon a second boost of force came from Rokuro's upper gauntlet and sent Kamui flying.

Just like with Benio before, he was sent flying through multiple mountains before landing on an infested bridge. His enchantments had worn off by now and one could see the pain in his eyes, that hit would have killed him if his armor had not increased his defence. The hit seemed similar to his own, a shockwave attack that reverberated through the body once it came into contact. That explained why he didn't feel anything when Kamui's attack connected, they cancelled each other out.

"Oi, is that seriously it?"

The limp Kegare looked up to see Rokuro approach.

"I expected more from the one who killed Benio's parents."

Rokuro stamped his foot onto Kamui.

"I won't kill you yet though, go and find the other Basara, tell them I'm waiting…"

With that, Rokuro smashed the stomach of Kamui with his gauntlet and smashed a hole in the bridge, sending the injured Kegare into the watery depths below.

"How…"

"Hmm?"

He turned back to see a limping Benio clutching her left arm, just stunned by how easily Rokuro beat down Kamui. She collapsed after a second, too weak to continue propping herself up. Rokuro dashed over calmly to check if she was alive and found that she had apparently lost consciousness from overexertion and her injuries.

"Great, now I gotta drag your sorry ass out of this place!"

And so, begrudgingly, Rokuro pulled Benio out of Magano and carried her back home to rest. He had realized it after dinner but there was no doubt in his mind that Arima would blackmail him somehow if Benio died, either forcing him to birth Miko immediately with someone else or by exiling him from the exorcists. Sure, he wouldn't really be too worried about the hate but the main concern was that the allowance he received would no longer be provided.

And one couldn't fight Kegare on an empty stomach, he would have to work, taking out even more time from his schedule, he couldn't afford to let that happen. Hence, he was forced to take care of Benio, a burden secretly placed on him by Arima, he was the head exorcist for a reason, cunning was something many would describe him as if they were ever a part of his plans for long enough to see through his playful and childish behaviour.

'After all, if the man was willing to provide an entire house for such an unlikely outcome like the birth of Miko between two polar opposites, who's to say that he would be beyond betting on the more likely outcome of Benio dying and use that to his advantage to pressure me into doing what he wanted?'

* * *

Benio awoke the next day in her bed, a letter taped onto her forehead. She tore it off, slightly peeved at the placer's disrespect for her face, and read it.

'Yo Benio, I saved you and brought you back to be healed so you better be grateful! Don't worry about Kamui though, I left him alive in case you wanted to kill him yourself, I won't take that away from you. You owe me one though, so go and clean up the living room dammit! All your stuff is still scattered all over, I would appreciate if I could actually use the couch to rest after exorcisms.

-Rokuro '

She crushed the paper in her hand, obviously less than delighted about once again being shown up by Rokuro. Though she was grateful to an extent, if he never showed up, if he hadn't beaten back that Kegare, she might not be here right now. He was right about one thing though, she was weak, at least compared to the Basara she seeked vengeance on, she needed to get stronger if she wanted to stand a chance at even seeing the Kegare at his strongest.

'The only way to that easily would be Rokuro… He considered training me for the sake of Ryougo but surely he hasn't discarded the notion completely now that Ryougo is going to quit exorcism right?'

She shook her head to get the ridiculous thought out of her head, she wouldn't rely on him to help her, she would seek out how he got his strength on her own, the first thing she needed to know about was his charm. That black charm was beyond the power of anything else she had seen before from her parents or any other exorcist. The one who likely gave it to him would be the old man. She made her way to the dorm to question him about it.

She entered his room after knocking and saw him drinking a cup of tea.

"Oh Benio, how is it with Rokuro? I trust things are well?"

"What kind of charm is Rokuro wielding?"

He stopped short of bringing the tea to his lips at the question, slowly setting it down as he thought of what to say.

"Why do you wish to know?"

"I need to get stronger… Surely some of his strength comes from that charm! Give me one as well!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that… There's only one of that charm, it is a specially created reusable one which was created for Rokuro only."

"Why? What makes it so that only he can wield it?!"

"I'm afraid, that such a question would best be asked to Rokuro himself for it is a rather personal matter..."

"Then is there any way I can get stronger?!"

"Obviously there is, just train daily, though you are already quite strong for your age."

"It's not enough, there has to be a quicker way to get stronger, what did Rokuro do?"

"I'm honestly not sure, I actually had no clue he was this strong until the day you two fought, he was likely training in secret."

"So the only way to find out is to ask him isn't it?!"

"It would seem so."

Benio thanked him for his time and left, intent on training herself to the extreme in an attempt to prove to her mind that there was no need to rely on Rokuro. With a determined mindset and strict diet, she forced herself through over exertive training lasting a week, each passing day she felt it working less and less, the final test of defeating a Kegare like the first one she saw Rokuro defeat was a complete failure, only surviving the encounter due to Rokuro arriving.

"Stop wasting your time, you're only causing trouble to me by getting into these situations…"

She laid broken and exhausted in her bed for the next few days, lamenting her inability to get strong enough to be able to do anything against Kamui. As she slowly healed from her injuries, Rokuro kept appearing in her mind, the key to his mysterious strength shrouded in a thick fog within her thoughts. She awoke on the afternoon of day she would be healed and tried to find Rokuro who evidently wasn't in the house.

She stormed into town to search for Rokuro, going to the area where she sensed multiple Kegare disappearing at a rate only he could achieve. She found him with his gauntlet out like normal and casually smashing in the heads of more Kegare, brutally turning them into the curious black orbs which no doubt had something to do with his strength. Butting into his killing spree with a kill steal, Benio got his attention and asked to speak with him seriously.

"What? Wait till I'm done at home or help me without getting in my way."

Seeing as he likely wouldn't listen, she resigned herself to it and killed off some Kegare further off from where Rokuro fought. They left Magano after that and she walked after him.

"So? What did you want?"

"I need you to train me."

"Huh? I have no need for you anymore, get lost."

She moved ahead to block his path.

"Please, at least until I'm strong enough to take him down, until then I'll do anything you say in exchange."

"Oh? What does this anything constitute then? Surely you wouldn't be willing to strip would you? Such an act would surely be beyond what you are willing to do right?"

To his surprise, Benio removed her garments then and there.

"Oi! Put your clothes back on, I didn't mean it literally! I don't want to be seen as a huge pervert to the town, that causes way more problems than training you!"

She complied and had her head down, face completely red along with Rokuro, now feeling the embarrassment of her actions.

"Ugh, way to put me on a spot, fine I'll consider training you, no harm in more Kegare dying because of me I guess…"

Benio bowed at his agreement, genuinely grateful he didn't reject her.

"I haven't decided yet so stop that."

He saw the pavement darken with liquid.

"Hey are you crying?!"

Rokuro grabbed hold of her shoulders and straightened her up to see her face.

"I'm just, relieved, after that encounter with him, I realized how easy it was for me to die without being able to do anything to avenge my parents… I tried to find out how you got so strong but my pride wouldn't allow me to ask you directly so I trained on my own…"

"You mean how you got so injured this time?"

"Yea, though I thought long and hard and I understand that this is probably going to be my best bet if I intend to be serious about taking him down…"

"Ugh, I'm no good when people cry and I didn't cause it, makes me feel awkward. Just stop wailing for now and continue once we get home could you? I hate drawing attention from the populace so stop or I'll traverse the rest of the way in Magano without you."

Obviously one couldn't stop such an emotional overflow and Rokuro was forced to bring her into Magano with him to avoid the stares of bystanders who looked like they were going to start consoling her.

'So if I leave her alone it also causes problems? Great, this is quite the girl you've bound to me Arima, though I could use this to my advantage if she can be competent enough to be able to defeat Kegare of Kamui's level on her own…'

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the food part, got hungry while writing again, gotta stop doing that, wish there was more food in my house that I could eat without preparation. I wish Souma would cook for me, though I might not be able to eat regular food after that so on second thought nevermind. Oh and if anyone is wondering, I have no clue how to factor in Mayura being honest, she made an early appearance in the Anime, though for the record, she doesn't know about Rokuro's personality change for now.

I apologize again to the Anime viewers for switching to the manga but fillers in a twelve Episode series is something I view as unneeded and just a waste of possible adaptation time used solely for the purpose of advertising. Sure it was made to be an advert in the first place, most Anime is, but if it likely isn't getting another season then there is no point in dragging it out… Of course slice of life Anime are the exception, fillers don't really take away anything and actually are a bonus since they fulfill the point of the Anime by themselves.

Another thing, I am writing as I read the Manga so don't expect me to know something that happened in say Chapter Seven while I was writing on Chapter Two. I will try to bridge the information where possible of course, but don't expect a perfect transition when it has to do with already posted content, I'll need to get creative for that. For now though, the story should progress smoothly unless a major plot twist is in the Manga up ahead.

I think this is one of the longest author's notes I've ever written, what am I doing? Is this my mind's subconscious attempt at making up for lack of story content word wise? Anyway, as always, review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories, community and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum.


	3. Chapter 3: Damnation

A/N: Finally, after months of delay, the story is updated. Sorry if you didn't appreciate the wait but I was way ahead of the Anime anyway so pretend I stopped for it to catch up I guess. Also, the Anime is apparently going to be a four cour one, which is terrifying since there are barely over thirty chapters in the Manga. There's an important message in the bottom Author's Note so do read it.

Do note though, I am writing this as I am reading the Manga and this makes it real difficult to know things in the further chapters and will be crafting my own background instead majority of the time so don't expect chapters to parallel the story in terms of past events. This is almost guaranteed to break the story at some point so do understand if I hit a rock and have to rewrite stuff to fix the flow but for now, I'll tackle the reviews.

* * *

 _Arc of Carona: That was great._

Thanks!

 _MiniTeddyBear: Brilliant chapter! I enjoyed Rokuro's display of strength against Kamui and looking forward to Benio's progression. Nice emotional scene in the end as well. Great writing! I'm following the anime and manga but I'm waiting on the next release so I really need something to satisfy me and your story is perfect! Keep up the good work!_

Thanks for the feedback!

 _Zabaniya: I agree with you in the whole thing about how much different the Anime from the Manga. I have been reading the manga ever since i came upon it like when it had only 4 chapters and when I first saw the anime, I was completely shocked on how things are changed._

 _Anyways, the fanfic is nice since there are no other Sousei no Onmyoji fanfic ever. I'm liking the new personality of Rokuro._

There should be seven other stories at the time of posting so do check them out if you feel so inclined.

 _Nyan Cat: Yay! I missed you! Welcome back!_

Good to be back, though I'm afraid I won't be for long.

 _Kuro kaze no aka kira: Will you have Rokuro and Benio end up together?_

Would be nice if they did but it will likely be a slow process since this story isn't as happy as the original.

 _skullcandykliveL This story shows a very interesting potential development, despite the fact that this is some kind of AU fic. I am a little concerned about the fact that you'll most likely be relying on the canon plot in terms of progress. In other words, your story would be limited to how far the manga is. Nevertheless, I am sincerely interested with the development you have in mind and I'm looking forward to your next update._

My imagination is pretty limited beyond warping previously established facts so I usually only write Canon based stories, hope the update will be to your liking.

 _Nualie: ...Rokuro has absolutely no way of knowing Kamui's name you know... Literally none. But that's minor, I suppose XD You could've described him more tough, anime watchers are going to be confused... Will continue by pm._

Well it's far behind now so I suppose they should know about Kamui. For those wondering, he knows Kamui's name because of the thing revealed at the end of the chapter.

Continued by PM

 _Caseclose122: It is going to be a 52 episode series but I am a manga reader and I hate the anime. Out of all the studios why studio pierot. Also I kind of hate rukuros smug attitude and benio and ryougo not doing anything about it. I love your story but rukuros smug face makes me want to punch him in the face many times._

Yea, found out about that after the chapter. For his attitude, I hope I fixed him, he really was too much and had to be toned down.

 _andreisee1: This is so amazing, It's like the only Twin Exorcist Fanfic I can find and it's doing a darn good job, amazing hehehe ~ When do you update the story? Hahaha_

Like I mentioned above, there should be seven more to check out by now and I was supposed to update every three weeks but you can tell that plan was thrown out the window completely.

 _Guest: Is Yuuoto coming?_

No clue, is this Yuuoto in the chapters after the timeskip? I only know a Yuuto sorry.

 _zen-aku the spirit of the wolf: do you intend to have them end up together at some point anyway_

 _its interesting and has definitely been repaired, rokuro is closer to canon while being dark and i applaud this. it would seem i have found another talented author, you are now in my list of talent which mind you has a very strict set of job._

As mentioned above, it will be a slow process but I hope to achieve it smoothly. Thank you for the praise and I hope the delay hasn't caused you to lose faith in me.

 _shashaspeaks: I love the Fanfic and Dark!Rokuro, and I understand how hard it is being the only SnO/TSE Fanfic writer here, but the problem is..._

 _*spoiler alert. spoilerssszzzzz*_

 _Kegare didn't kill the Hiinatsuki guys. Rokuro did. They all were baptized into Kegare by Yuuto, and Rokuro's arm was eaten then, and Yuuto ended up baptizing Rokuro as well. That was how he got the arm. I wonder if you could change a bit of the back story in the prologue, so it fits in with both the manga and anime (cuz that's what happened in the latest episode and long ago in the manga). Besides that stuff, love your fic. Keep going. I know you've said that you can't be expected to know everything, just try to fix that stuff. You've got two chapters that should be easy to fix. Meaning no offense, the long "dead"_

 _Shashaspeaks_

As mentioned in the Author's Note, I will be crafting my own background to fit into the story, thanks for the heads up though.

 _Nyan cat: WHAT?! What do you mean delayed?!_

 _TT_

It means delayed, as in not punctual lol. On a serious note, I had a bunch of stuff going on so couldn't update earlier, sorry, I know you really wanted more.

 _max3213: This guy here likes this. I hope you update soon!_

I hope this guy still wants to read this terribly delayed chapter and this humble author seeks forgiveness.

 _3cheers4revenge: I like this so far :3 keep it up_

Thanks, enjoy the chapter.

 _Lordshuvra: It was a nice couple of chapters. Hope you are going to finish it WITH a happy ending. Or I will exorcise you to oblivion._

Yikes, please don't, authors are volunteers, not slaves. The happy ending is likely though, not sure when is all.

 _fangs of death: So far this is pretty good, looking forward for the next chapter._

Hopefully you saw forward enough that the chapter arrived not too late.

 _Guest: I like it_

 _I just hope you make her stronger and him less of a dick_

Stronger? I think that would be world breaking lol…

 _koro sensei: nurfufufufufufu~ interesting...veryyyyy interersting…_

So this story reaches ghosts? Cool!

 _ANONYMOUS: Whoa nice. That Keh made me remember Inuyasha. Nice story anyways._

Hope it was a good memory and thanks.

* * *

Once Rokuro returned home, he had practically already decided to train her, his conscience telling him that turning her down at this point would leave more than a bad taste in his mouth. With a tired sigh, he left her in her room to calm down before visiting her the next day only to see her knelt down with her head bowed.

"Err… What are you doing?"

"It is only proper to show respect to one's master."

"There's no need for formalities, just think of it as if you paid me to do this instead of me volunteering. And don't call me master either, it sounds weird…"

"Right… Well that how will we be training today?"

"We'll start with the absolute basics of Dark Exorcism I suppose."

"Dark Exorcism?"

"Yea, it's much like the Holy Exorcism that you've learnt up to now but instead of channeling your own innate ability and written talismans which has an upper limit of strength, you start at the no strength and slowly build it up through the killing of Kegare and absorbing their power."

"Absorbing their power?"

"The red orbs."

"I always wondered about that…"

"I bet you also want to know about my ability to enter Magano without the talisman right? It's all part of being strong in Dark Exorcism."

"So will I be able to reach that level one day?"

"Perhaps, though you and I are different in ways you shouldn't know and what I learnt in two years might take you significantly longer to master."

"I'm willing to spend as much time as necessary as long as my dream comes true!"

"Well said! Then come, we're going to need to do some mind exercises first."

An hour of travelling later, the duo found themselves in an underground unlit part of their home which had been added at some point by Rokuro.

"Now, to be able to utilize Dark Exorcism, you must channel, obviously, the negative emotions such as anger, grief, regret and other ones. The most powerful one however, is hatred, the one I mainly rely on. You are likely suited for it, my initial probing has shown me that."

"You mean when you insulted me and my parents at the beginning when we first met?"

"Indeed, had you displayed a more violent reaction or radiate a darker aura would you have been unsuitable to use Hatred of Kamui in your training."

"Shouldn't that have increased the likelihood of me being suited to Hatred?"

Rokuro shook his head.

"That would be defined as intense Grief such actions would show that you have yet to get over the loss and are not yet purposefully seeking out the reason for this Grief to enact revenge."

"I see…"

"To channel Hatred, one must first form a clear picture of his enemy, what the target of their Hatred is."

"I… I Hate Kamui! The murderer of my parents!"

"No! Think bigger! The larger the target of your Hatred, the larger the power level base will be."

"I hate all Kegare, had they not existed, then my parents would have lived peacefully and never encountered Kamui or any other Kegare!"

"Good! Grasp that feeling in your heart, think about what you lost because of the Kegare!"

"I… Must… Destroy… All Kegare!"

An explosion of energy that felt all too familiar to Rokuro erupted from Benio, causing the room to glow eerie dark red. The volcanic like explosion of power soon subsided and Rokuro smirked as the energy now condensed itself into Benio. She fainted at the influx of power, her body not used to holding such strength.

"Looks like this might be interesting after all…"

With that, Rokuro caught her falling form and laid Benio down on her bed upstairs.

'I guess I'll check on Ryougo while I wait for her to awaken from overexertion."

A few moments later, Rokuro found himself at the doorstep of the dorm and was just about to enter when he heard a scream. He jumped over the wall and towards the source of the sound. There he saw Atsushi lying flat on his back while Ryougo was kneeling in front of the doorway.

"I just leave for a little while and so much changed…"

'This voice…'

"Oi Rokuro, I heard you made Ryougo quit exorcism! Imagine my surprise when I saw him working in a convenience store."

The called stepped out into the open and smirked.

"And what of it?"

"Kid, you trying to ruin my years of effort put into training?"

"Not like your training did any good anyway…"

"Hmph, looks like I'm going to need to remind you of your place!"

The world turned crimson as the two entered Magano.

"Come then! I've been itching to test my strength on an actual opponent that isn't a Kegare! I'm sure the Twelve Heavenly Commander's White Tiger will be worth fighting!"

"Don't get so full of yourself!"

Rokuro manifested his gauntlet with shoulder guard and got into stance.

"Eradicate… Consume... Eradicate and Consume! Appear around me!"

"Hmm? I'd heard about your arm but they never mentioned the shoulder being covered as well."

"That's cause I never used it publicly up till now, nothing was worth fighting at this level after all."

"I'll be making the first move then!"

Seigen picked up some rocks, tossed them into the air and chanted.

"The enemy who receives blessings and yet infringes, with a bow and feather arrows, I shoot them down! Void Rending Bullets!"

"I'm surprised you haven't improved on that yet, let me show you how it's done! Void Rending Dark Barrage!"

Rokuro's rocks fired off beams and countered all of Seigen's projectiles.

"Come now, surely there's something you haven't taught me yet right?"

"Don't get cocky brat! Beast Claw Exposure!"

A tiger like plated claw with an exaggerated length manifested itself onto Seigen.

"Oh? Now that's interesting, guess you've been hiding something from me."

"That arm of yours is quite the surprise as well, is that how you survived Hiinatsuki?"

"Sort of, though I got this after the incident, but you wouldn't have known about it, I kept my training secret after all."

"Let's see just how strong you've grown boy!"

With an invisibly fast movement of his arm, a wind blade was sent through the air towards Rokuro who slapped it aside with ease.

"Come on, don't use such a predictable attack, I'm better than that."

"Keh, looks like I'll have to treat you somewhat seriously after all."

A cloud enveloped Seigen slowly as he activated a special talisman.

"I didn't just borrow the name of the Heavenly Commander kid, I was acknowledged by the founding shikigami! White Lotus Tiger Arms, Mystic Spell Equip!"

The smoke cleared and his new form was presented to Rokuro.

"Oh? Is this your final form?"

"Maybe."

"Well I'll just need to find out then."

Rokuro repeated his Void Rending Dark Barrage to test Seigen's empowered form, only for his projectiles to all be completely dodged with seemingly no effort.

"Oh? It seems you aren't all talk after all."

Quickly, Seigen approached Rokuro.

"But, still weak!"

Catching the kick and punch thrown at him, Rokuro spun his ex-teacher in the air, much like he had done in the past to the student. A boosted uppercut punch in the gut completely disabled the Heavenly Commander who landed weakly on the floor. As Seigen lay on the ground defeated, Rokuro had a resigned look on his face and bowed, completely foreign to everyone who had seen him fight up to now.

"Thank you for all your training, but I must go my own path now..."

"Ugh…"

Walking away, Rokuro spoke in a voice that Seigen could only identify as desperate.

"Listen Seigen, just stop… You don't have to fight anymore, I alone will shoulder that burden..."

Seigen looked up with the last of his energy at his ex-student.

'You sure have grown…'

With that, he slipped into unconsciousness and Rokuro left after, heading straight back to his home, leaving the devastated Heavenly Commander on the ground.

* * *

The Dark Exorcist returned to find Benio awake and waiting for him on the couch of the now cleared living room.

"So you're awake?"

"Yes..."

"We start the real training tomorrow so get some rest."

Rokuro then moved to leave the room.

"Wait…"

He turned back to look at her questioningly.

"What?"

She hesitated a little, as if somewhat unsure if she should raise her question after all.

"Well?"

"During the session… I thought of my twin brother…"

"Hmm?"

"He was at Hiinatsuki Dorm when the incident happened…"

"So you think I might know what really happened to him?"

She nodded.

'So first I fight Seigen which digs up these memories more than usual and now she asks me about them? What is this, some kind of sick joke?'

Rokuro crossed his arms.

'I suppose if she's with me now there's no harm in telling her a part of the truth…'

"Which one was he?"

"Yuuto Ijika."

"Hmm? I guess you inheriting the title of family head caused your name to change as well, didn't bother to check up on you that far back."

Rokuro closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought.

"Yuuto huh? The guy always was a jerk, saw himself as stronger than anyone, not sure what happened to him though, now that I think of it… Quite sure he's dead though, never saw how but it's rather obvious he's gone."

"Oh…"

'It just had to be Yuuto… The one person which I can't reveal the truth about to her yet, thanks universe, thanks a lot…'

"How do you do that so casually?"

"Do what?"

"Remember the tragedy…"

"It'll be covered soon in your training but in order to bring out your power, you'll need to draw from the feelings of hate through the memories like it's as natural as breathing. It's why I don't flinch or anything when people remind me of it, I already am constantly reminding myself."

"So I'll have to relive the memory of my parents death over and over again in my head while I go about my day?"

"No, we'll start small for now, just learn to do so for short periods of time to simulate utilizing it for a battle. I only keep myself in a constant state of hatred since I want to always be alert in case something threatens my family again to reduce the time it takes for me to get ready for batt-"

A feeling of distress penetrated Rokuro at that moment as he sensed Mayura in danger.

'She must have dropped her charm when she moved to protect Seigen.'

"What's wrong?"

"Mayura's in danger, come, I'll use this as a demonstration but hurry!"

The two headed towards the source of the disturbance and Rokuro made it in just in time to smash the large shadowy monster in the face as it attempted to consume Mayura.

"Are you alright?!"

"Rokuro? I… "

A shockwave of pain suddenly reverberated through Mayura at that moment as she fell to the ground and a criss-cross of black lines started smoking off her abdomen. The daughter of Seigen struggled to breathe and started sweating profusely as the transformation began. Stunned by the sudden development, Rokuro failed to react in time and was pushed back by the initial surge of power as Mayura descended into darkness.

"Damnit, I need to get to her quickly!"

"What's going on?!"

"She turning into a fallen impurity!"

"What?!"

"I'll explain later, for now I need to reach her before it's too late!"

"Here!"

Benio crossed her twin enchanted blades and signalled for Rokuro to jump.

"Tch, guess there isn't much other choice…"

He ran towards her and used the blades as a boost platform to catapult himself into the air. With his hand outstretched in the shape of a claw, Rokuro aimed his fall right at her.

"Mayu!"

A bright crimson flash engulfed the plain and Benio shielded her eyes until it died down. Once she could see again, she saw a gold exorcism star sigil, uncharacteristic of Rokuro's fighting style, and a dark scarlet orb floating above the girl who had now returned to normal. Rokuro grabbed the orb and crushed the sphere with his arm.

"So it's begun again huh…"

The previously unconscious girl returned to the land of the living and saw her saviour.

"Rokuro…"

"Rest Mayu, I'll take care of things from now on…"

"It's nice to see you fighting again Rokuro, the docile you which resented exorcism always felt off and I'm sure Ryougo felt the same way…"

She closed her eyes after, too tired from the experience to continue with them open and allowed herself to drift off into sleep, entrusting herself to Rokuro. Benio approached behind him soon after.

"Rokuro, what was that…"

"It's what happened at Hiinatsuki all over again…"

"Huh?!"

"That's right, all the members at the dorm were transformed into monsters."

"So my brother-"

She was prevented from completing her question as a loud howl echoed through Magano.

"Later, for now I'll take care of Mayu while you fight that fallen impurity, make sure to draw on your hatred."

With that, Rokuro exited Magano and brought the girl back to Seika Dorm where he left her next to the injured Seigen. Benio on the other hand equipped her enchantments and tried to focus her thoughts.

'Impurities… All of them have caused me problems! Be they fallen, normal or Basara, they've always made my life difficult… I will destroy all of them!'

Power surged through the female exorcist as she successfully channeled the power and used it for the first time. With adrenaline fueled power and speed, she smashed into the Kegare head on, boring a hole straight through its chest and causing a star sigil like Rokuro's to appear over its defeated form as it died and left behind an orb which she collected just in time for the aforementioned youth to witness.

"Not bad, your base power has amplified your strength in Dark Exorcism quite significantly. Hold on to that orb for now, I'll teach you how to use it later. But first..."

Rokuro suddenly moved with great speed, manifesting his gauntlet and shoulder guard.

"Void Rending Dark Barrage!"

A stream of lasers were fired off at the camouflage cloaked figure sitting atop a nearby hill as Rokuro took a guarding stance. Benio was confused by the action and tried to make out what exactly Rokuro was aiming at when suddenly, a blurred figure landed in front of her and made the girl jump back in shock. She took a while to recover and looked up to see Rokuro in front of her.

"I really didn't have to meet you now of all times but I guess that was just wishful thinking since you always loved to watch your work first hand!"

Through slowly clearing vision, Benio tried to identify the blue haired figure who had appeared.

"Isn't that right?! Yuuto!"

"Huh?!"

Her vision fully clear and the name acting as a catalyst to jog her memory, she now recognized him.

"Onii-sama…?"

"That's mean Rokuro, you shouldn't be making such a face either, this should be the part where you cry tears of joy and have a friendly reunion with me!"

"Cut the crap, at least try to be honest in front of your sister would you?"

At that, the eye-patched boy's facade faded and more sinister smile replaced the previous jovial image.

"Well since you asked so nicely… It was a pain playing the 'good older brother' all these years anyway."

"Playing the part? Yuuto, I don't understand... "

His eyes snapped to her and narrowed.

"Shut up. Close that immature mouth of yours right now."

"Huh?"

"If you can't understand me then just disappear, not that it will make a difference in the long run."

He turned back to Rokuro and smiled.

"Keh, where've you been hiding all these years anyway? Was the prospect of running into me so intimidating that you left town?"

The taunt caused his mask to crack slightly as his eye twitched minutely.

"Very funny Rokuro, you always were a joker after all!"

At an incomprehensible speed, Rokuro rushed forward and smashed his fist into Yuuto's face then activated the upper part of his armor, causing dark jets of energy to propel his fist further into the ground which the boy's face now laid. Soon the boost subsided and he jumped back to avoid a potential counter by Yuuto.

"That was payback for Hiinatsuki…"

While Rokuro helped the still slightly dazed Benio up to her feet, Yuuto stumbled to get back up. Once he finally did and clutched his swollen face, he pointed to Rokuro in disbelief.

"That's impossible! I heard you were strong but moving at that kind of speed with such force is ridiculous!"

"Oh you mean you didn't know?"

"Know about what?!"

"I suppose I can't blame you, not even Seigen knew what happened so the official circulated story which you likely picked up on was that I was saved by Seigen."

"Huh?"

"The truth is, I survived Hiinatsuki on my own."

"How? I saw you at death's door!"

Rokuro shook his finger in front of Yuuto.

"Not quite, you saw me get surrounded before leaving, calling it a waste of time since the outcome was clear and that you wanted to leave before someone could see you."

A pebble skidded across the ground as Rokuro smirked at Yuuto.

"Thought that's just what you said, I think you were just a coward who didn't want to see what happened to Hikari a second time."

"Grr!"

"Now now, don't show such a face, we're friends right? I was just making a little friendly banter, hehe…"

Yuuto looked as if he would attack for a moment but quickly composed himself and his dark smirk returned.

"You nearly got me there Rokuro, good thing I always kept it in my head that you would likely try something like this. However, trying to piss me off won't work a second time."

"Then I suppose you let me get that first punch to test my power as well? What a load of garbage!"

Another twitch flashed by as Yuuto's irritation spiked yet again.

"Enough, now we fight!"

A giant sigil appeared on the ground around Yuuto as he jumped back.

"Light Rending Supreme Bullets!"

"Oh? That's rather interesting."

Rokuro looked towards all the large floating heads hurtling towards him before activating his own counter.

"Void Rending Dark Stream!"

A singular large insignic rock floated up from the ground and took aim, firing off a sweeping beam which melted all the incoming rocks.

"Bullets are so outdated, it's all about lasers nowadays, and here I thought you would be better than Seigen…"

"Impossible, to think that a weakling like you…"

A boosted punch quickly collided into Yuuto again as Rokuro dashed through the dust cloud formed from the destroyed rock chunks.

"That was for Mayura…"

The air within his lungs was expelled as Yuuto's gut was smashed. He collapsed as Rokuro stepped back.

"How… For you who didn't step forward into the door leading to immense power to so easily defeat me... "

"You sinned when you caused the Hiinatsuki tragedy."

A kick knocked him left.

"You sinned when you messed with Mayura."

Another smashed him right.

"But your true sin, is when you failed to see past the door and take the true path to power!"

A final knee sent him flying and landing on his back, the crimson sky above him seeming to wobble.

"Maybe you'll find it after this, now stay down…"

Walking towards a shocked Benio, Rokuro tried to calm her down.

"What… What just happened?!"

"Relax, I'll explain it slowly but first I need you to control yourself."

Taking a moment to calm down, Benio made herself presentable and looked to Rokuro for answers.

"Now, where to begin… I suppose I'll start with the tragedy, you saw what happened with Mayura right? Well, like I said earlier, that's what the happened to everyone at the dorm, only I couldn't save them."

His fist was clenched tightly as he recalled in detail the events of that night.

"Then what happened?"

"Well living on like that is no life anyone wanted to be a part of so…"

Benio paled at the thought of what likely was the true resolution to the Hiinatsuki tragedy. However, that brought up another question.

"But… How?"

"Of course you'd want to know… Well, let's just say that it has to do with what I said earlier about you and I being fundamentally different. Maybe I'll tell you the full story someday but for now let's leave it at that."

She nodded her head and waited for Rokuro to continue.

"What happened was basically that Yuuto tricked most of the dorm into believing that they would gain immeasurable power and be useful to the other if they did as he instructed."

A sarcastic smirk was on his face as Rokuro recalled exactly what happened.

"Well, he wasn't exactly lying, they did grow powerful after the ritual, just that he never mentioned the price… He used it for his own purposes and you can see the result in his strength, a regular exorcist would be dead in an instant against him now."

Shaking his head to dismiss the irritation, Rokuro returned to explaining.

"Me and Hikari didn't take part and so managed to avoid it. Only thing is, we were eventually hunted down by them and like I mentioned before, Hikari didn't make it, me surviving from the verge of being killed. I swore vengeance against Yuuto and Kegare so here I am."

"To think that my brother was…"

"It is to be expected you are in shock, he was always one to play with other's feelings. That is why you need to train, he is as bad as the Kegare with his choices. Keep this image in mind, the brother you thought you knew was just an illusion, this is his true nature."

She didn't say anything and just looked at the limp form of her incapacitated brother in the distance.

"He plans to redo the tragedy from Hiinatsuki…"

Rokuro nodded.

"He's likely already laid plans for it so I'll need to stop him here."

"Haven't you already won?"

"I've weakened him but it's far from over..."

"How? Isn't he lying defeated there?!"

"He has yet to get serious Benio, you think that the extent of his power gained after sacrificing the entire dorm is only so little that it can't even match up to me?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Rokuro didn't reply, silence the only response before a sudden shockwave imploded around him. She saw that his arm had extended and on the other end was a fist from a Yuuto she didn't recognize. His entire body was similar to how Rokuro's arm looked. Steam came off his body as the released form took its toll.

"So you're finally going to try and fight me properly?"

"Rokuro!"

"Too bad, I don't have time for you any more…"

"Don't underestimate me!"

Yuuto threw another rage infused punch but it was caught and after flipping him over with the momentum, Blood shot out of his mouth from the force of the impact and Rokuro's fist hurtled towards his face, only to stop short, creating another shockwave. He slowly moved back and opened the Magano gate, pulling Benio along with him.

"Come back here tomorrow if you want a rematch, I'll fight you if you can beat Benio…"

Coughing blood again, Yuuto's transformation rescinded and he laid blankly, face soon twisting into one of pure hatred.

'Rokuro… I will destroy you! I don't know what you're playing at but my sister stands no chance against me!'

* * *

Back in their home, Rokuro sat across Benio in the living room, time slowly passing as they waited for the other to speak up. It was only after some time that Benio broke the silence.

"What you said earlier… I can't possibly beat him…"

"You can, just not as you are now."

"What do you mean?"

He said nothing, hiding the truth as always.

"What do I do?!"

"Fight… Just train your Dark Exorcism for today."

Benio stood up and shouted.

"I won't survive the battle like that!"

Rokuro stood up, head still down.

"Enough! You agreed to listen to me and give up everything if you could pursue your dream…"

Benio was about to retort but saw a tear drip onto the ground below Rokuro.

"This isn't an easy decision for me either!"

She stepped back, surprised that Rokuro had unexpectedly lost his cool.

"But I promised you… I promised that I'd make you stronger…"

"I don't understand…"

"I'll see you at the place tomorrow…"

With that, Rokuro disappeared from the house, presence completely erased. Sitting back down, confused and exhausted, Benio tried to make sense of what had just transpired. Everything was just moving so fast, her mind was completely in a haze and each time she tried to collect her thoughts, something else would collide into the pile and disperse them like the first shot in pool.

Frustrated and noticing she stinked, the girl took to the showers, undressing and letting the cold water surround her. Within the serenity of the cool liquid, she managed to slowly organize the day's events and make sense of them. First was training, Rokuro had managed to get her started in Dark Exorcism and the power was immense but it didn't measure up to the strength he himself possessed.

'He mentioned then about us being different… Is it something to do with the black charm?'

Moving on, seeing as there were no clues to resolve the above question, Benio recalled the experience with Mayura. Rokuro displayed the ability to stop the transformation into a fallen impurity midway, he never fully explained it so again she was left with an unanswered question of how and had to move on to the next event, the fight with Yuuto.

It had been completely mind boggling before but now that she had time to think, she slowly pieced together the full picture with what she found out from Rokuro and the way her brother acted. He had been lying to her from the beginning, he caused the tragedy at Hiinatsuki and used them as an experiment to further his ideals.

'Rokuro mentioned him not seeing past the door, not sure what that means but for now it matters not…'

He changed his body into that of a fallen impurity but the power demonstrated far outstriped that of even the Basara Kamui who took away her parents. She didn't know exactly what he did but it was clear that he wasn't her brother any longer. No, he never was, it was all just an act by a messed up boy...

'Rokuro is right, I need to end him, before he causes chaos throughout the entire world with his plans…'

The next day, Benio entered Magano and saw Rokuro calmly staring down a furious Yuuto. He turned to his student as she arrived.

"Good to see you made it, I won't be helping you in this fight sadly so fight to your best."

Equipping her enchanted gear and channeling her hatred, Benio unleashed her strength as Yuuto prepared to fight.

'I can't hit hard so I'll need to slice fast!'

Taking off at lightning speed, Benio collided her blades into Yuuto who unsealed his arm to block, resealing it after pushing her back. Landing with her knees bent, she used the energy of the position to catapult herself forward as she struck at her older brother again. Like before, Yuuto blocked and pushed her back.

"Weak! Your attacks have no weight behind them!"

Benio persevered, confident that pushing him back was effective.

"Enough!"

By the fourth time, Yuuto had had enough and unsealed his legs to match her speed, slamming into her dual blades with his fist right in the centre, mimicking a skull's position on crossbones. She was blown back by the blast and struggled to stay upright. Falling to one knee, Benio rested for half a second before dodging a lunge by the blue haired boy.

"You're holding back Benio, do you really still think of me as your brother? How touching."

"I'm not!"

Denial flooding her thoughts, she pounced onto Yuuto from above, blades once again blocked.

"Weak! Weak! Weak! Your attacks aren't strong enough to be any kind of challenge! It's just your speed that's annoying!"

His eye unsealed as he stretched out his hand towards where Benio would be the next moment, determined by his enhanced sight.

"Just disappear!"

With that, Benio's legs were severed from her body in a blast of energy. No longer able to stop herself, the leftover momentum caused her to crash onto the ground a little ways ahead.

"Ahhh!"

"That's good Benio! Scream more for me as I continue!"

Appearing next to her, he moved dangerously close to her face.

"I really hate it Benio, that you didn't take me seriously just because I pretended to be your brother… Then again maybe you thought you did, but that doesn't change the fact that it was rude…"

With a free hand, he blasted off Benio's left arm. Another cry of pain left her lips as her tears intensified.

"I had hoped that you would be a worthy warm up before I fought Rokuro but I guess I set the bar too high for such an incompetent one such as you."

This time not even bothering to do it indirectly, he put his hand onto Benio's remaining limb and pressed down, instantly crushing the bone and tearing off the arm.

"You're not still thinking that I'm just a fake and that your older brother that you loved is deep down in my heart right?"

A soft strained voice was picked up by his ears and Yuuto lowered his head closer.

"Did you say something?"

"You're a monster…"

He got up and clapped his hands together in joy.

"So you finally get it?! I'm glad, that means I can end your life while you have no regrets!"

He raised his unsealed foot above Benio's head, intent on crushing her head.

"Now then, please di-"

Yuuto flew through the hills as Rokuro intervened.

"Right, that's enough, time out."

Benio looked up weakly.

"Rokuro…"

"Enough with those tears, if you could get stronger by crying then there'd be nothing to it…"

She forced herself to stop crying as Rokuro commanded.

"Good. Now, do you still want to fight?"

"Of course!"

"No matter the cost?"

"Isn't that obvious? I will accept any price or take any risk if it means I can stop my brother and have my revenge on those who have wronged me…"

"Good answer!"

Rokuro outstretched his hand and immediately after a brief period of focus, a crisscross pattern appeared on Benio's chest.

"You will become like the ones at Hiinatsuki… I will give you the appendages of Kegare, just make sure you can control it… If you succumb and become a Kegare yourself, I will take have to kill you and finish him myself so... Try not to, alright?"

'His voice sounded regretful near the end, was that what he meant by it was a difficult decision? Did he want it to play out this way so I would get stronger if I succeeded?'

Benio's vision faded as she found herself in the various situations she experienced after meeting Rokuro. In almost all of them, she failed to stand on her own, needing to be saved.

'I need to succeed! I can't just be a burden to him forever!'

The world turning dark once more, voices around her started to wail.

'Anger, sadness, hate, envy… All of these feelings that belong to the Kegare… They can't compare at all to mine!'

The darkness was blown away, bathed in a crimson red glow as Benio drew on what Rokuro taught her, remembering the determination in his eyes whenever he trained her.

* * *

Yuuto crawled back out from the crater he was used to create and caught sight of something completely unthinkable.

'Impossible! It's not possible! To think that Rokuro would even consider such a thing!'

"Oi Rokuro! What happened to not interfering?!"

Looking over, the boy in question smirked.

"Well she was pretty much done anyway, let's just call this overtime."

A bright light shone as Benio emerged from her coma.

"Oh, that was quicker than expected!"

"Impossible! There's no way someone like Benio would be accepted!"

Shooting forth and bouncing around the place before stopping next to Rokuro, Benio stood determined.

"Who said anything about needing their acceptance?"

She stood tall with her new arms and legs, seemingly made for her as they matched the mask she normally wore.

"Someone like you… For someone like you to be standing on the same stage as me!"

Distracted by pure disbelief, Yuuto failed to dodge his sister's attack and her godlike speed propelled her into his face, her new fist smashing into his nose. He flew back from the impact but she didn't let up, launching herself ahead of him before reversing her direction again to deliver another blow.

"Against someone like Benio… I…"

Another hit knocked him out of it as Benio continued her assault.

"I won't accept it!"

Unsealing his full form, Yuuto attacked Benio as she was about to get in a high hit, sending her flying towards a floating isle. However, unlike he perceived, she had actually absorbed the impact and used it to propel her upwards on purpose. Mimicking a certain man who was just a hero for fun, she kicked herself off the landmass and struck Yuuto in the face with unparalleled force, creating a crater in the ground where he stood.

Once the smoke finally cleared, Benio laid weakly on the ground as her time ran out.

"I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, the enchanted power in her was leaking at an unmatched rate, an unavoidable side effect of using the power without proper control… I remember when this happened to me, collapsed immediately after managing to exorcise everyone…"

On the other end, leaning against a rock was Yuuto, his right cheek crumbling.

"Just who are you? Rokuro isn't able to imbue such strength into another…"

Rokuro's face then contorted, his eyes changing to a more sharp shape and mouth becoming more defined.

"As expected of one who was able to keep me entertained, indeed Rokuro hides a dark secret… Know my name and engrave it into your memory boy, I am the Original Impurity, Edonogen!"

Overwhelming power leaked from Rokuro as the otherworldly entity took control.

"The original?"

"That's right, so heed my words boy, you aren't ready…"

The presence disappeared and Rokuro returned to his original appearance, falling unconscious from overexertion. At this point, Benio recovered enough to regain her senses and moved towards Rokuro. Yuuto was still frozen with fear from the earlier encounter but quickly recomposed himself upon seeing her stir and looked at the landscape destruction caused by their battle.

"Today really sucked… Never thought I'd meet such a big shot in such a place after getting beaten so badly…"

He walked slowly up the hill and was about to leave when Benio called out to him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to that place…"

"That place?"

"Come and find me when you're ready to challenge without Rokuro's help, I'll be waiting…"

With that, Yuuto took off into the distance, unseen for a long time…

* * *

On a secluded cliff, untouched by the conflict, a shadowy figure walked off into the distance.

'I suppose I'll need to get stronger if I want to face even her in battle, let alone the boy... '

The golden-eyed boy looked to the crimson sky as a smile graced his face.

'Humans really are so very interesting…'

* * *

A/N: I apologise if the quality dropped, kinda out of it since the Anime went out the window and I stopped following it. Resonance might not make an appearance in the story for a while, but I intend to add it in some point in the future, just not until Benio is further along in her training.

I stopped writing this chapter when it hit three thousand words due to life getting busier and never managed to get back into it until now, apologies again for that. I knew I had to do something not to leave you all hanging so I forced myself to finish it up only to notice it fit nicely to right before the timeskip before releasing it along with this announcement.

Now for the important thing, I'm going to stop this story since it reached the time skip. I will almost definitely revisit it another day but until then, the story's first season will be considered completed. Sorry if it is to your displeasure but it is the only way I can think of that is fair to all of you who are waiting for a proper conclusion to this yet want good quality.

As always, review, favourite and follow if you've enjoyed. Don't forget to check out my other stories, community and poll as well. Story status information can be found on my profile and you can make suggestions on my forum. I hope you've enjoyed the story up to now, till next time…


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